On May 13, SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. and the SUNY Board of Trustees announced the allocation of $114 million in increased operating aid across State-operated SUNY Campuses from the FUY 2025-2026 Enacted New York State budget.
The article further reported that “with this investment, Governor Hochul and the State Legislature are reinforcing their commitment to academic excellence and expanding the promise of opportunity for every New Yorker” (5-13-25 New Funding in 2025-26 NYS Budget – SUNY).
By what of the liberal arts? An article found at chronicle.com (4/8/2024) titled “The Gutting of Liberal Arts…,” chronicled the demise of programs at my own alma mater, SUNY Potsdam. The author, David C.K. Curry, a faculty member at Potsdam reported on the firing of seven tenured faculty members and eighteen programs were discontinued – all without warning (The Gutting of the Liberal Arts). THe programs that took the biggest hits were music performance (Potsdam) and visual arts (Fredonia), although Potsdam has also phased out (or is planning to) art history, chemistry, French, music performance, and philosophy.
Although not a SUNY school, but still within the same geographical area as Potsdam, Clarkson University made the “shocking announcement” in January of 2024 that it was closing its School of Arts & Sciences, “phasing out all its majors in the humanities and social sciences, including foundational disciplines such as history, political science, sociology, and communications.
SUNY Fredonia and SUNY Plattsburgh have also gutted programs and faculty.
We want to hear your thoughts about what is being referred to as the “eviscerating of the liberal arts.”
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